Here and there – Part 2

Person 3 : Why that menu for every Friday ?? You should all bring meat and enjoy your lunch.

Person 2 : Hey…hey…don’t talk like that. When we do puja on Friday, we don’t cook or eat meat. And that too, today is Pradosham*. No eating of meat.

Me : You know, Pradosham is the day for Shiva and he is eats meat. Do not confuse with what you eat and how you pray. Prayers should be done with a sincere heart and it doesn’t matter what’s there in your stomach.Have you read Sai Satcharita ?? Sai asks us to eat before prayers, so that we can focus totally on God or our prayers instead of the hunger that might eat us up.

Person 2 : But we are not used to such things. If we have had meat any day, we don’t go near our puja room without a head bath.

Me : I am confused as how a head bath can clear the effects of meat which you ate the previous day ?? And I am also confused that eating meat will have effects which needs to be cleansed. If so, why people eat meat ??

Some myths and beliefs continue to do the rounds. Even if you try to question them, there are this sect of people who don’t want to change out of those superstitions. They just keep doing what they were forced to follow when they were young. New age thinking or questioning the myths is not allowed…sigh…its sad.

In conversation with one of my neighbors, I heard her talking about her cousin who had a love marriage and how the whole family hates it, in spite of the fact that the cousin is doing well in life.

She is quite young, but has this weird belief that love marriages will not work out in the long run. It’s shocking to see this emerging set of young people – in their mid thirties, with school going children having a hate-mentality towards love marriages. What will they do if their kids fall in love later in their life ?? They’ll make their kids’ life miserable, for sure.

Marriage is a union of two minds, two hearts, two souls. It can be made successful or defeated on the first day itself. And there is also lot of work that needs to be put into that relationship. It purely depends on the compatibility of the two people who are getting married. It can even happen in arranged marriages. Then why this hatred towards love marriages ?? To be able to find love on their own is a wonderful thing to happen during one’s life.

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This was my status in FB after Mr. Modi’s interactive session on Teacher’s Day.

Today, Mr. Modi’s interactive session with students happened LIVE with almost all the school children all over India, taking part in it.My daughter also attended it in her school.Some observations from my side :– Loved the way Mr. Modi interacted with children and spoke to them. The children need to be spoken to by leaders – this is the age when children form role models in their minds.– From the aspect of being a Tamilian, none of the schools here force Hindi as a language to study. Then how in God’s name are the children to understand this interactive session ?? Many of them got bored and walked away or started playing. Some schools left their children early to go home. Somehow it didn’t reach the non-Hindi speaking children of India – felt sad about it.
– Since it was an interactive session, there couldn’t be instant availability of sub-titles.
– I wish the concerned schools have recorded this whole session and taken some time to translate and make their children watch in the language they can understand.

There were a lot of criticism about this Teacher’s day session. I read that one parent said that his daughter would’ve stayed home and watched it and that there is no need to make the students watch in school. And from what I saw here in Chennai, no one watched it at home. In many schools, it was not compulsory…so the kids were sent home. And all of them, went ahead with their usual work of tuition, classes and other stuff but never tried to watch it on TV.

Also, there were many comments like Mr. Modi has taken away the Teacher’s Day charm and made it into his PR day. Ok…may be he got the day wrong. But I liked the fact that a leader of this country took time to talk to the younger generation. This impressionable age of the youngsters is what we need to impact with positive talk and great ideas. These youngsters, if properly motivated, can do wonders for our country. So, why can’t this session be treated as one, which may have changed the mindset of many youngsters of this country ?

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On a lighter note, I love it when the waves in the beach, hit my feet to soothe them and calm me inside out.

17 Replies to “Here and there – Part 2”

The myths of eating non veg on certain days are so hilarious that you wont believe it..I have folks in office who dont eat meat on Tuesdays, Thursdays and God knows which days…Like you said, eat what you like right?

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And the NaMo speech was a big hit from what I gauged in Bombay. Kids did come back impressed. If the speech was in English, would it have been better? I guess NaMo trying to promote national language or something eh? The official website has an English translation. I read that one as I couldnt watch the speech.

and have you heard, wear Indian clothes when visiting Temples??? Now beat that 😀

And I loved the Modi address though I do feel that the argument that it was teachers day and he should have addressed Teachers not children quite right but then I don’t expect him to adhere to 14th November 😀 And yes the hindi only thing might have pinched many a people but then even English would have not been understood by many kids so i feel it was Catch-22 situation for him!

As long as people don’t impose on others what they follow/believe in and does not affect anybody in anyway, I stick to the ‘ to each his own’ thing. It is a matter of faith and belief after-all.

I am told a few schools here had translators. I really like that he is being available for the country to interact with him 🙂 Makes us feel a part of the democracy overall and not only when we have to cast our valuable vote 🙂

And I so wanna go to a beach like NOW! Was in Mangalore on work the last week, but had not time to go to the beach *sob* 😦

Swaru, do you know how they work ?? They dont force it on others literally, but keep asking them questions like – Today is tuesday, did you cook meat ?? – Today is amavasya, did you cook meat ?? We dont cook meat, as Gods will get angry –
You keep telling any normal person this day after day, they’ll change slowly and surely into this maze of days and related eating habits. I’ve seen it happen.

Absolutely – felt part of the democracy is the right thing 🙂

You come to Chennai, we’ll go together to Mahabs or to Elliots beach 😀

Certain beliefs that border on utter ridiculousness..and even more so when people know they sound illogical and yet go on practicing them! 🙄 Glad you questioned them and tried to make them see sense, Ums. You’re doing your every and thats worth appreciating.

As for Modi, he has been talking and spreading messages that have made so much sense to me. I wish and hope he would succeed in putting those messages and ideas into action too. So far he has been talking about making all the right moves. Lets see..